The Analogies of Elections

Originally posted on eurorscgpr.com/blog.

When I attended the Connecticut Democratic State Convention last week, two major things struck me. The first is the degree to which politicians and political organizers are using the same analogies as marketers—everyone is going grassroots. Just as those of us in the communications business are striving to create homegrown movements and viral videos, our would-be leaders are increasingly spinning their campaigns as homespun. The convention was for one of the most politically important states in the country, yet it was a mixture of national stage setting and high school pep rally.

Second, political candidates are using fighting words to a much more literal extent than ever before. Still on the hot seat after claiming to have served in the Vietnam War, Attorney General Richard Blumenthal accepted the Democratic nomination to the U.S. Senate. My biggest takeaway from his speech is that fighters are nobler than terrorists. Even as he told the audience that “I have made mistakes” and “I regret them,” he made it clear that he’s putting that behind him and battling ahead.

He did so by deploying strong warrior language: “We are in a fight this year. It is a tough fight.” “Let me go to Washington and be your next United States senator and I will fight for you.” “For 20 years I have fought to set things right for ordinary Americans.” “I won’t back down.”

It’s worth pointing out here that Blumenthal’s Republican opponent is Linda McMahon, co-founder of World Wrestling Entertainment; as that organization’s former CEO and brand champion, she effectively wrestled for a living. In fact, her campaign tried to take credit for breaking the news about Blumenthal’s mischaracterization of his Vietnam service. (The New York Times insists that its reporters originated the story.)

This election—and others like it across the country—is nothing less than a brawl for the future. The stakes are higher and the outcome more uncertain because it’s happening at a time when it’s completely unclear what is Democratic and what is Republican. Political branding is deeply confused because we can’t tell anymore if it’s about party or people. What can the “party of no” stand for? Who is really an outsider? And if we’re going to turn away from politics as usual, what will replace it?

The old analogies no longer do the job. The parties need to be redefined.